Quote from the trailer of Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006) [0], featuring the EV1: "The electric vehicle is not for everybody - it can only meet the needs of 90% of the population"
Is there an interview with owner or something that explains more than it exists and hasn't been updated?
Tade0 1194 days ago [-]
I tried to find any additional information, but apparently the owner is not interested in any media attention.
Worst part is I've been to Mosta - the city where the dealership is located, was aware of its existence then but when I saw it I didn't realise what I was looking at.
I remember thinking "what a weird country to have such old cars on display".
Anyway Malta is full of unusual vehicles - it's the only European country where I saw kei-cars on the streets.
sokoloff 1194 days ago [-]
We sold our classic 1959 Mercedes 220S cabriolet to a buyer in Malta. It seemed fishy to us at first (that someone would want to ship the car to Malta), but the buyer was totally legit, did everything exactly as he promised, and has sent us in-progress shots of the further restoration work he's done to it.
gkop 1194 days ago [-]
I learned to drive (among other adventures) in a ‘64 220S sedan, Mercedes Blue. I believe your Cabriolet must have also been one of these special “heckflossen” huh?
sokoloff 1194 days ago [-]
Ours was a long body Ponton. Fintail/Heckflosse followed the Ponton series.
Somewhere, I have a video of us rolling the odometer over back to 00000.0 on a roadtrip back from a meet in Pennsylvania (true mileage unknown, but we believe that was the first odo rollover for the car).
nradov 1194 days ago [-]
The country is small, speed limits are low, and streets are very narrow. So kei cars make sense.
handol 1195 days ago [-]
Hey that looks familiar. I helped push it inside when it arrived. Still had that new car smell when I took my turn sitting in it.
defterGoose 1194 days ago [-]
...and on HN, i have no doubt that you're telling the truth.
danans 1194 days ago [-]
I wonder how well the NiMH battery in it holds a charge after all these years. It would be a fun project to customize a new modern battery pack to replace the original. I hope someone takes that up.
fortran77 1194 days ago [-]
> had 142 miles of range decades ago
It's intesting that they managed to get 2x the range of the first-gen "LEAF" without Lion technology
labcomputer 1194 days ago [-]
The 1999 EPA range test was even more optimistic than the current test. On the current test, the EV-1 would earn closer to 100 miles.
It’s also a tiny 2-seater compared to the 5-seat Leaf.
aetherspawn 1194 days ago [-]
It's also significantly more expensive in 2000-dollars than a LEAF today. For cars in that weight class, it's a simple equation: $$ = range.
maxerickson 1195 days ago [-]
$50,000+ in year 2000 dollars for 142 mile range.
imglorp 1195 days ago [-]
Vs GM's current token, the Bolt, at $36,500 for 259 mile range, with an 8/100 warranty. It's a perfectly cromulent car at this point: including a couple features Tesla 3 doesn't have like hatchback and headlights that steer into curves.
But despite Mary Barra saying they're all-in on electric, it's still a gesture at ~20k sold/year. It's partly on the channels: I had to argue with several dealers to get a test drive because many are both threatened by the Bolt and ignorant of it. I finally found a good dealer with stock and knowledge to give me a test drive last year. Mary has been open that half the company is a liability, as well.
> But despite Mary Barra saying they're all-in on electric, it's still a gesture at ~20k sold/year. It's partly on the channels: I had to argue with several dealers to get a test drive because many are both threatened by the Bolt and ignorant of it.
With good reason. EVs, thanks to their mechanical simplicity and resulting lower maintenance costs, present a major problem for traditional dealers who are reliant on maintenance revenue for EV engines.
There is also cultural friction resulting from the use of petroleum becoming an identity politics issue for many - with particular constituencies (like auto dealerships and oil companies) having their interests tied to petroleum based vehicle technology. The grassroots expressions of this include the "ICE-ing" of EV chargers [1].
This identity dimension has increased as petroleum gradually loses its actual product advantages (rapid fueling being the most significant).
I don’t buy dealership that dealerships don’t like EVs because they make less money on repairs.
A lot of the work dealers do is warranty work (paid my mfr). Warranty work is due to manufacturer defect and defects can happen with ICE vehicles or EVs. Just look at the build quality issues Tesla was having.
Maintenance and repair issues go far beyond the engine. Power train, electrical, doors, windows, brakes, lighting - all of which EVs still have. Yeah, it’s great when you don’t need an oil or filter change twice a year, but that’s about all the maintenance an ICE needs.
zamfi 1194 days ago [-]
The reality is less important than the perception, though. The perception among laypeople is that EVs are less maintenance than ICEs, even though that may only be marginally true. The perception among dealership staff likely matches this.
tialaramex 1194 days ago [-]
> Power train, electrical, doors, windows, brakes, lighting
The power train is much simpler in a sane EV design than what you need to get plausible performance/ efficiency out of ICE. Fewer, simpler parts means less to maintain or repair.
The braking of an EV can be (and usually is) regenerative which means instead of wearing out brakes you're just running the motors backwards. You will still see some brake wear, but unless you're a maniac it's far less than before.
Lighting, as in the home, is going LED and thus you can choose to have it last more or less as long as you wish for increased capital outlay - unlike with incandescent you aren't obliged to also give away efficiency if you want longer life, two 1W LEDs under-driven to 500mW can produce more light than a single 1W LED and enjoy increased lifespan, the downside is mainly the capital cost to buy the more expensive lamp. That's a factor choosing "light bulbs" in the grocery store (or in a smaller store, a choice the store owner made for you) but hardly top of mind for a $20k+ new car.
refurb 1194 days ago [-]
Sure the power train is simpler, but how many ICE cars never have powertrain issues? It's not unusual at this point. And if the issue is manufacturer defect, then EV cars have that same risk.
Sure you might be replacing brake pads less, but is there anything to suggest the braking system is less prone to failure? Say from rusted parts or bad seals?
And LED lights aren't unique to EVs. You can put them on ICE cars too so it's a wash.
throw0101a 1195 days ago [-]
Doing a quick search, GM's ten best-selling vehicles were trucks and SUVs in 2019:
It may be that they are (were?) doing things small to start to learn a bit more before ramping up. Just yesterday (1/15) they announced a major investment for EVs in Ontario:
There could also be friction given GM's large dealership network about profits: service departments are needed much less with EVs compare to ICE vehicles.
I think things will change once GM announce EV SUVs and pick-up trucks. How knows when that will be though.
Which are much more popular in Europe than the US. In the US they're often derided as "econoboxes"
CalChris 1195 days ago [-]
The Nissan Leaf is a hatchback. The Tesla Model S is a hatchback. So is the Y. You might be right about real Amuricuns but the EV buying segment rather likes hatchbacks. With the exception of one SUV, which I did not like, every car I've ever owned since my first Honda Civic has been a hatchback.
perardi 1195 days ago [-]
Oh, Americans actually like vehicles that happen to have a large hatch in the back, but they do not like cars that are shaped like hatchbacks. The Model S is shaped like a sports sedan. It does not look like a hatchback.
CalChris 1195 days ago [-]
It is however a hatchback. I dump my bike in the back as I have with every hatchback I've owned. You can even camp in the back. But if you prefer, you can call it a liftback.
omgwtfbyobbq 1194 days ago [-]
I've been under the impression that hatchback versus lift back depends on the car's dimensions. A longer car with a shape closer to a conventional sedan would be a liftback and a shorter/boxier car with a shape closer to a traditional SUV would be a hatchback. But it is essentially the same.
stretchcat 1194 days ago [-]
If you think a hatchback doesn't look the way you expect a hatchback to look, then your expectation of what hatchbacks look like is obviously wrong and should be updated.
If I had to guess, what you think of as "looks like a hatchback" is actually 'two-box' while "shaped like a sedan" is 'three-box.' Three-box hatchbacks have been around for decades though.
DaiPlusPlus 1195 days ago [-]
I believe the Model S is better described as a liftback than a hatchback.
I think hatchbacks are unpopular in the US for the same reason automatic gearboxes are unpopular in the UK: automakers price them higher and in the smaller car segments (where hatchbacks are more prevalent) carbuyers are more price-sensitive. I don’t know why carmakers price them higher - it seems artificial.
brians 1195 days ago [-]
My model 3 has an enclosed trunk. Why would you call it a hatchback?
CalChris 1195 days ago [-]
Doh, you're right. (Corrected) I have an S and the 3 isn't a hatchback (but the Y is). Need coffee. And indeed that was the reason I didn't get the 3 when it came out. The S is a little big for me but the 3 isn't a hatchback. I really like the Y though.
greesil 1194 days ago [-]
I love my Bolt. Inexpensive, smooth, carries kids, has a roof rack.
rootusrootus 1194 days ago [-]
Agreed, there's a lot to be said for it. I drive a Tesla Model 3 and my wife drives a Bolt, which means I get plenty of seat time in both. I wouldn't say the Tesla is definitively better. There are things I definitely prefer the Bolt for.
PaulWaldman 1194 days ago [-]
Can you elaborate on the Bolt's advantages over a Model 3?
rootusrootus 1194 days ago [-]
Sure!
- Lighter, more nimble -- super tight turning radius, tossable, easy to put anywhere you want in a tight parking lot, etc. Visibility in the Model 3 is great, but it's still a heavier, bigger car.
- The Bolt has CarPlay. I can't get my Model 3 to reliably read me text messages, stream music (even getting it to recognize my playlists in Spotify was a huge chore). CarPlay is just so much easier to use. Love the big map screen on the Tesla screen, but I really wish they'd implement CarPlay. They definitely have the screen real estate to do it.
- The Bolt distinguishes between forward regen and reverse. So when I back down my driveway, it works just like you expect a normal car to do it. In the Tesla I have to push the accelerator to get it to move downhill in reverse. Or else I use creep mode and then have to use the brake at every stoplight. The Bolt gives me both. And since you decide every time you put it in Drive, you can skip regen altogether, which is what my wife does. No going into a menu every time and changing it.
- Cost. This is situational, of course. My Model 3 runs me close to a grand a month in depreciation alone. I paid 6 grand for a 36 month lease on the Bolt.
- Wipers, of course. The Bolt has normal wiper controls. On the Model 3 I have to get used to them running at the highest speed for no reason, or turn them off and resign myself to holding down the stalk button when I need them.
My model 3 is a performance model, so it's silly fast, but the Bolt isn't unpleasantly slow. The Bolt seats suck, but I feel the same about the Model 3 seats (my butt has grown accustomed to Recaros, I got spoiled). The OTA updates are more frequent on the Model 3, definitely, but at least the Bolt can get OTA updates as well. Hell, my F250 can at this point, but Tesla is much more frequently tweaking things.
1194 days ago [-]
PaulWaldman 1194 days ago [-]
Thanks for the info.
As more carmakers offer completive battery electric vehicles, maybe Tesla's more subtle deficiencies will garner more criticism.
The wipers and lack of Carplay/Android Auto seems to be a universal complaint. I can't think of any mainstream cars that start over $30K and don't offer Carplay or Android Auto.
rootusrootus 1194 days ago [-]
I completely understand the decisions Tesla has made, and they have done an admirable job. They needed to make the car feel premium enough to justify the price, while still cutting costs at every opportunity. So they made their own seats, branded vinyl as vegan leather, spun a huge center infotainment screen as a feature instead of the cheapest way to get a dashboard in the car, etc. But competition is heating up, so they will have to stay on their toes.
I'm really pleased to see that Ford actually put forth a good faith effort with the Mach-E. And one-upped Tesla with the interior at the same time. The Mach-E isn't a compliance car, and we need to see more of this in the market. The Bolt, despite some protests to the contrary, is absolutely still a compliance car, though I think they executed pretty well all considered. I agree that at this point CarPlay/Android Auto is table stakes. It's more noteworthy not to have it, than to have it.
tomcam 1194 days ago [-]
+1. I combine the two and carry my kids on the roof rack for additional cargo space.
kevin_thibedeau 1194 days ago [-]
All of the crossover "SUV"s are hatchbacks. Americans love them.
acct776 1195 days ago [-]
They were thinking that slowing down EV adoption helps them retain market strength longer.
Or gives them more time to adapt/learn before more serious ventures in.
perardi 1195 days ago [-]
Yeah, it reads like a compliance vehicle. They know they’ll lose money hand over fist, so they made it as much of a nerd pod as possible.
(And there’s a market for nerd pods. See: Prius. But that ain’t Chevy’s market, no sir.)
cmrdporcupine 1194 days ago [-]
Companies that produce compliance vehicles do it only where they have to comply. Hence companies like Toyota that make EVs only when forced to by law. That does not describe GM.
GM sells & markets the Bolt (and formerly the Volt) in all states and provinces of North America. Which is more than you can say for most manufacturers. It's really just a family of Tesla, GM, and Nissan, and of those two only GM and Tesla have taken battery temp management and lifespans seriously.
GM's EV engineering is up there with Tesla. They are not producing compliance cars.
Unlike Tesla they are responsible to their shareholders, and have to pay a dividend. So they make and sell what is profitable. The EV thing, they are limited by battery supplies and market demand, but they are well positioned to do better than the others once those obstacles are surmounted.
The Bolt is a good vehicle. It's not in a form factor I love, but the tech in it is excellent.
somerandomqaguy 1194 days ago [-]
GM was in the red for every Bolt sold, somewhere between selling each unit at a $4000 to $9000 loss[1]. And GM's CEO Mary Barra full on admitted to GM investors that GM EV's will likely not see profitability until between 2020 and 2030 [2], and AFAIK it's mostly due to focusing on Cadilliac branded EV's first.
I don't know of much reason to spend high capital to create a production line, and then take a loss per unit sold other then for compliance.
That's amazing concidering how crappy the bolt I test drove 6 months ago was. It was like they took their cheapest subcompact, threw some batteries and motors in it, and started charging $40k for a car that if it were gas would be maybe $20k at best.
refurb 1194 days ago [-]
Is it that amazing? GM has been squeezing efficiency out of thier ICE production lines for close to 100 years.
Suddenly switch to a new type of power train and combine that with small volumes and I’m not surprised in the least it crazy expensive.
evgen 1194 days ago [-]
> GM was in the red for every Bolt sold, somewhere between selling each unit at a $4000 to $9000 loss[1].
Tesla consistently has a larger loss per vehicle, and unlike GM there is no actual profit center to compensate if the government subsidies happen to dry up.
omgwtfbyobbq 1194 days ago [-]
Tesla's been able to improve to the point where they are still profitable without emissions credit sales.
They could cut the $330 million in R&D costs too, but i don't think they should given their niche.
imglorp 1194 days ago [-]
> GM's EV engineering is up there with Tesla.
Can they use the supercharger network? Or are they restricted to shower charging on road trips?
ChrisIsTaken 1194 days ago [-]
Shower charging.
The bolt fast charges at 50kW up to about 40%, then gradually drops to 35kW at 55% charge state. After that the charge rate drops off horrifically, to less than 10kW above 80%.
It's a compliance car designed for city driving only.
1195 days ago [-]
PaulWaldman 1194 days ago [-]
It would be interesting to take a step in a parallel universe where GM decided to invest heavily in electric vehicles after the EV1. One where they followed up the EV1 with a whole portfolio of electric cars. Maybe even converting Saturn to its first electric only brand.
Where would this put electric cars today? Would we see cars with a 500 mile range selling for $30k? I kinda doubt it.
My recollection is that GM instead pivoted massive investments in hydrogen fuel cells, which require much smaller batteries. It was probably a hedge against the slow advancement of battery technologies. Unfortunately it seems like hydrogen fuel cells are getting skipped entirely for battery electric vehicles for consumer vehicles.
[0] https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2147287321?playlistId=tt0489037
https://www.autoindustriya.com/auto-industry-news/time-capsu...
Only the car in question is much more unique.
Worst part is I've been to Mosta - the city where the dealership is located, was aware of its existence then but when I saw it I didn't realise what I was looking at.
I remember thinking "what a weird country to have such old cars on display".
Anyway Malta is full of unusual vehicles - it's the only European country where I saw kei-cars on the streets.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_Ponton
http://www.mbzponton.org/pax058/people/sokoloff/sokoloff.htm
Somewhere, I have a video of us rolling the odometer over back to 00000.0 on a roadtrip back from a meet in Pennsylvania (true mileage unknown, but we believe that was the first odo rollover for the car).
It's intesting that they managed to get 2x the range of the first-gen "LEAF" without Lion technology
It’s also a tiny 2-seater compared to the 5-seat Leaf.
But despite Mary Barra saying they're all-in on electric, it's still a gesture at ~20k sold/year. It's partly on the channels: I had to argue with several dealers to get a test drive because many are both threatened by the Bolt and ignorant of it. I finally found a good dealer with stock and knowledge to give me a test drive last year. Mary has been open that half the company is a liability, as well.
https://www.barrons.com/articles/mary-barra-on-general-motor...
With good reason. EVs, thanks to their mechanical simplicity and resulting lower maintenance costs, present a major problem for traditional dealers who are reliant on maintenance revenue for EV engines.
There is also cultural friction resulting from the use of petroleum becoming an identity politics issue for many - with particular constituencies (like auto dealerships and oil companies) having their interests tied to petroleum based vehicle technology. The grassroots expressions of this include the "ICE-ing" of EV chargers [1].
This identity dimension has increased as petroleum gradually loses its actual product advantages (rapid fueling being the most significant).
1. https://www.carscoops.com/2021/01/ram-1500-that-identifies-a... https://www.techspot.com/news/78089-tesla-hating-pickup-driv...
A lot of the work dealers do is warranty work (paid my mfr). Warranty work is due to manufacturer defect and defects can happen with ICE vehicles or EVs. Just look at the build quality issues Tesla was having.
Maintenance and repair issues go far beyond the engine. Power train, electrical, doors, windows, brakes, lighting - all of which EVs still have. Yeah, it’s great when you don’t need an oil or filter change twice a year, but that’s about all the maintenance an ICE needs.
The power train is much simpler in a sane EV design than what you need to get plausible performance/ efficiency out of ICE. Fewer, simpler parts means less to maintain or repair.
The braking of an EV can be (and usually is) regenerative which means instead of wearing out brakes you're just running the motors backwards. You will still see some brake wear, but unless you're a maniac it's far less than before.
Lighting, as in the home, is going LED and thus you can choose to have it last more or less as long as you wish for increased capital outlay - unlike with incandescent you aren't obliged to also give away efficiency if you want longer life, two 1W LEDs under-driven to 500mW can produce more light than a single 1W LED and enjoy increased lifespan, the downside is mainly the capital cost to buy the more expensive lamp. That's a factor choosing "light bulbs" in the grocery store (or in a smaller store, a choice the store owner made for you) but hardly top of mind for a $20k+ new car.
Sure you might be replacing brake pads less, but is there anything to suggest the braking system is less prone to failure? Say from rusted parts or bad seals?
And LED lights aren't unique to EVs. You can put them on ICE cars too so it's a wash.
* https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/03/these-were-the-10-best-...
Except for the Malibu (#5).
It may be that they are (were?) doing things small to start to learn a bit more before ramping up. Just yesterday (1/15) they announced a major investment for EVs in Ontario:
* https://www.thespec.com/ts/business/2021/01/15/gm-canada-ann...
There could also be friction given GM's large dealership network about profits: service departments are needed much less with EVs compare to ICE vehicles.
I think things will change once GM announce EV SUVs and pick-up trucks. How knows when that will be though.
https://www.autonews.com/dealers/about-150-cadillac-dealers-...
Disclaimer: I work for GM. I don't work on any EV specific programs.
More info: https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/cromulent
“You know what Americans hate? Hatchbacks. So let’s go for that for our big re-entry into the EV market.”
Where on earth do you get his from? The top selling cars in the US are mostly SUVs and CUVs. In other words, hatchbacks.
https://cdn.motor1.com/images/mgl/vg6LR/s1/2018-bmw-430i-gra...
and this is a hatchback:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9e/76/9d/9e769dd145c21f6aaedf...
In casual speech most people are referring to two-box sub-compact/compact hatchbacks that look like this:
https://cars.usnews.com/static/images/Auto/custom/14323/2020...
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/38b2e6935d2caa4e96e963348fc...
https://cars.usnews.com/static/images/Auto/custom/14314/2020...
Which are much more popular in Europe than the US. In the US they're often derided as "econoboxes"
If I had to guess, what you think of as "looks like a hatchback" is actually 'two-box' while "shaped like a sedan" is 'three-box.' Three-box hatchbacks have been around for decades though.
I think hatchbacks are unpopular in the US for the same reason automatic gearboxes are unpopular in the UK: automakers price them higher and in the smaller car segments (where hatchbacks are more prevalent) carbuyers are more price-sensitive. I don’t know why carmakers price them higher - it seems artificial.
- Lighter, more nimble -- super tight turning radius, tossable, easy to put anywhere you want in a tight parking lot, etc. Visibility in the Model 3 is great, but it's still a heavier, bigger car.
- The Bolt has CarPlay. I can't get my Model 3 to reliably read me text messages, stream music (even getting it to recognize my playlists in Spotify was a huge chore). CarPlay is just so much easier to use. Love the big map screen on the Tesla screen, but I really wish they'd implement CarPlay. They definitely have the screen real estate to do it.
- The Bolt distinguishes between forward regen and reverse. So when I back down my driveway, it works just like you expect a normal car to do it. In the Tesla I have to push the accelerator to get it to move downhill in reverse. Or else I use creep mode and then have to use the brake at every stoplight. The Bolt gives me both. And since you decide every time you put it in Drive, you can skip regen altogether, which is what my wife does. No going into a menu every time and changing it.
- Cost. This is situational, of course. My Model 3 runs me close to a grand a month in depreciation alone. I paid 6 grand for a 36 month lease on the Bolt.
- Wipers, of course. The Bolt has normal wiper controls. On the Model 3 I have to get used to them running at the highest speed for no reason, or turn them off and resign myself to holding down the stalk button when I need them.
My model 3 is a performance model, so it's silly fast, but the Bolt isn't unpleasantly slow. The Bolt seats suck, but I feel the same about the Model 3 seats (my butt has grown accustomed to Recaros, I got spoiled). The OTA updates are more frequent on the Model 3, definitely, but at least the Bolt can get OTA updates as well. Hell, my F250 can at this point, but Tesla is much more frequently tweaking things.
As more carmakers offer completive battery electric vehicles, maybe Tesla's more subtle deficiencies will garner more criticism.
The wipers and lack of Carplay/Android Auto seems to be a universal complaint. I can't think of any mainstream cars that start over $30K and don't offer Carplay or Android Auto.
I'm really pleased to see that Ford actually put forth a good faith effort with the Mach-E. And one-upped Tesla with the interior at the same time. The Mach-E isn't a compliance car, and we need to see more of this in the market. The Bolt, despite some protests to the contrary, is absolutely still a compliance car, though I think they executed pretty well all considered. I agree that at this point CarPlay/Android Auto is table stakes. It's more noteworthy not to have it, than to have it.
Or gives them more time to adapt/learn before more serious ventures in.
(And there’s a market for nerd pods. See: Prius. But that ain’t Chevy’s market, no sir.)
GM sells & markets the Bolt (and formerly the Volt) in all states and provinces of North America. Which is more than you can say for most manufacturers. It's really just a family of Tesla, GM, and Nissan, and of those two only GM and Tesla have taken battery temp management and lifespans seriously.
GM's EV engineering is up there with Tesla. They are not producing compliance cars.
Unlike Tesla they are responsible to their shareholders, and have to pay a dividend. So they make and sell what is profitable. The EV thing, they are limited by battery supplies and market demand, but they are well positioned to do better than the others once those obstacles are surmounted.
The Bolt is a good vehicle. It's not in a form factor I love, but the tech in it is excellent.
I don't know of much reason to spend high capital to create a production line, and then take a loss per unit sold other then for compliance.
[1]https://www.hotcars.com/gm-admits-bolt-not-profitable/
[2]https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/06/gm-doesnt-expect-to-make-mon...
Suddenly switch to a new type of power train and combine that with small volumes and I’m not surprised in the least it crazy expensive.
Tesla consistently has a larger loss per vehicle, and unlike GM there is no actual profit center to compensate if the government subsidies happen to dry up.
https://tesla-cdn.thron.com/delivery/public/document/tesla/3...
They could cut the $330 million in R&D costs too, but i don't think they should given their niche.
Can they use the supercharger network? Or are they restricted to shower charging on road trips?
The bolt fast charges at 50kW up to about 40%, then gradually drops to 35kW at 55% charge state. After that the charge rate drops off horrifically, to less than 10kW above 80%.
It's a compliance car designed for city driving only.
Where would this put electric cars today? Would we see cars with a 500 mile range selling for $30k? I kinda doubt it.
My recollection is that GM instead pivoted massive investments in hydrogen fuel cells, which require much smaller batteries. It was probably a hedge against the slow advancement of battery technologies. Unfortunately it seems like hydrogen fuel cells are getting skipped entirely for battery electric vehicles for consumer vehicles.